Knitted fabric and method of transfer knitting



19, 1958 c. w. MINTON 2,847,838

KNITTED FABRIC AND METHOD OF TRANSFER KNITTING Filed June 9, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR T lq CLARENCE m M/NTON ATTORNEY Aug. 19, 1958 c. w. MlNTON 2,847,838

KNITTED FABRIC AND METHOD OF TRANSFER KNITTING Filed June 9, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 is I a -I- g 11i; J 0 A INVENTOR 25 9.: 0 cues/v05 n. M/NTON ATTORNEY Aug. 19, 1958 I A Lu W C Y 1 5 mm a mm n9 NO 1 f .m ww w mm mm i 6-1 I l United States atent OfiFice 2,847,838 Patented Aug. 19, 1958 KNITTED FABRIC AND METHOD OF TRANSFER KNITTING Clarence Webb Minton, Nashville, Tenn, assignor to May Hosiery Mills, Nashville, Tenn.

Application June 9, 1955, Serial No. 514,311

Claims. (Cl. 66-24) This invention relates to textiles and more particularly to a method of transfer knitting and a knitted fabric produced by such method.

Hosiery of the type commonly termed socks is normally supplied with a ribbed top portion and foot portion of plain knitting. For many years, it was customary to knit such hosiery in two operations and on two machines, the ribbed top being knit on what was termed a ribber and which was provided with dial needles and cylinder needles in the desired combination to produce the particular rib pattern required, as for example, a 2 x 2 rib in which one rib is knit on a pair of dial needles and the next rib on a pair of cylinder needles and so on around the sock and, of course, these combinations of needles could be varied, at will, to provide a 1 x 1 rib, a 3 x 3 rib or other desired patterns. Upon completion of the ribbed top, the fabric was removed from the ribber and applied to a plain knitting machine in which only cylinder needles are employed. This transfer operation is extremely tedious and requires a high degree of skill on the part of the transfer operator, since each stitch of the ribbed top must be properly applied over a cylinder needle on the plain knitting machine. Transfer operators are extremely scarce and are also difiicult to train and consequently, there has been considerable effort expended in the hosiery industry to develop an automatic machine which will knit the entire sock, including the ribbed top and plain foot portion in a continuous operation.

As a result of these efforts, in recent years several different types of transfer knitting machines have been developed and such machines have quite recently been improved by material changes in design of the dial needles and also by the use of transfer bits or fingers which serve to spread the stitch loop received on the dial needle and facilitate passage of the cylinder needles therethrough during the transfer operation. Such transfer operation is accomplished at the completion of the ribbed top by transferring the stitch loop on each dial needle to a cylinder needle located substantially directly below such dial needle.

Even though such specially designed dial needles and transfer bits or fingers have been utilized, it has been found that, in some instances, the stitch loop received on the dial needle is not spread to a suflicient degree to permit passage of the cylinder needle therethrough during the transfer operation and consequently, this results in dropping of certain stitches and an inferior piece of fabric which must be rejected.

During knitting of the ribbed top, it has been found that the stitch loops received on the dial needles tend to remain relatively small and to resist enlargement by the specially designed needles or by transfer bits or fingers and consequently, some further improvement appeared necessary in order to insure that thestitch loops on the dial needles will be enlarged sufliciently to permit passage of the cylinder needles therethrough during the transfer operation and obviously, such improvement must be entirely automatic and foolproof in operation.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a method of transfer knitting involving the knitting of a transfer section which insures that the stitch loops received on the dial needles will be sufiiciently expanded during the transfer operation to permit passage of the cylinder needles therethrough.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a method of transfer knitting involving the knitting of a transfer section including additional stitches knit on the cylinder needles which were previously inoperative during the ribbed knitting operation, such additional stitches permitting suitable enlargement of the stitch loops received on the dial needles to facilitate passage of the cylinder needles therethrough during the transfer operation.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a method of transfer knitting which may be utilized with different combinations of dial and cylinder needles utilized in knitting the ribbed top, as for example, in knitting a 2 x 2 rib with every third cylinder needle inoperative, or by knitting a 2 x 2 rib in which every other pair of cylinder needles are inoperative.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a method of transfer knitting which involves no changes in the structure of the transfer knitting machine, but only in the mode of operation thereof.

A. further object of the invention is the provision of a method of transfer knitting which permits knitting of a ribbed top followed by a plain foot portion on the same machine and without materially changing the outward appearance of the knitted fabric.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a knitted fabric, knit in accordance with the method of this invention.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. l is a diagrammatic elevational view showing the relative positions of the cylinder and dial needles of a transfer knitting machine during knitting of the ribbed top portion of a sock;

Fig. 2, a diagrammatic perspective view similar to Fig. 1 and showing the relative positions and operation of the cylinder needles and dial needles of a transfer knitting machine during knitting of a transfer section in accordance with the method of this invention;

Fig. 3 a fragmentary diagrammatic top plan view showing in full lines the relative positions of the operative dial needles and cylinder needles and in dotted lines, the positions of the inoperative cylinder needles during knitting of a 2 X 2 ribbed top;

Fig. 4-, a fragmentary elevational View to a greatly enlarged scale showing a fabric knitted in accordance with the method of this invention and with the arrangement of dial and cylinder needles shown in Figs. 1 to 3;

Fig. 5, a fragmentary diagrammatic top plan view similar to Fig. 3, and showing a somewhat different arrangement of cylinder needles, the operative cylinder needles being shown in full lines and the inoperative cylinder needles in dotted lines, while the dial needles are shown in full lines; and

Fig. 6, an elevational view to a greatly enlarged scale similar to Fig. 4 and showing a fabric knit in accordance with the method of this invention and with the arrangement of dial and cylinder needles shown in Fig. 5.

With continued reference to the drawing, it is to be understood, that the method of this invention is practiced on a conventional transfer knitting machine in which dial and cylinder needles are utilized to knit a ribbed top for a sock and in which the stitches received on the dial needles upon completion of the ribbed top and thereafter the foot portion of the sock is knit only on the cylinder needles. This conventional transfer knitting machine also incorporates what is known as a dial racking mechanism, which permits rotation or shifting of the dial in either direction to change the angular position of the dial needles relative to the cylinder needles during the transfer operation or at any other desired time. Since with certain combinations of dial needlesand cylinder needles, it is necessary to have the dial needles positioned between the cylinder needles, a dial racking mechanism is necessary in order to position the dial needles over certain of the cylinder needles to accomplish transferring of the stitch loops from the dial needles to such cylinder needles. This dial racking mechanism, as well as the mechanism of the transfer knitting machine is conventional in every respect and forms no part of the instant invention. Consequently, it is not considered that any further detailed description of such knitting machine or dial racking mechanism is necessary or desirable.

During the transfer operation, it is necessary for certain of the cylinder needles to pass upwardly through the stitch loops received on the dial needles and to remove such loops from the dial needles, in order that all of the stitch loops will then be disposed on the cylinder needles for knitting of the plain foot portion. Obviously, if the stitch loop received on the dial needle tightly engages the same or remains restricted, there is appreciable less space for the cylinder needles to pass through and occasionally, the cylinder needle will fail to pass through such loop, with the result, that upon retraction of the dial needle, the stitch carried thereby will be dropped. This results in imperfections in the knitted fabric and ultimate rejection of the same with a consequent loss in merchandise and increased costs of manufacture. As mentioned above, various methods and apparatus have been proposed to enlarge the stitch loop carried by the dial needles and while these have been perfected to a certain degree, they have not completely removed the difficulties experienced during this operation. The method of this invention overcomes this previous difliculty, by knitting several loose courses immediately prior to the transfer operation to provide a transfer section and these loose courses are provided by knitting on all of the cylinder needles while still knitting on the dial needles used during the ribbed knitting operation. This results in providing a certain number of additional stitches in these loose courses constituting a transfer section and, as a result, the stitch loops received on the dial needles are considerably enlarged. As a result of this procedure, the cylinder needles invariably pass through the stitch loops carried by the dial needles during the transfer operation thereby substantially fully preventing the dropping of stitches during such operation with the consequent production of inferior fabric.

In Fig. 1, of the drawing, there is shown diagrammatically and to an enlarged scale, the fabric formed during a ribbed knitting operation and one possible combination of dial needles and cylinder needles, together with the inoperative cylinder needles which is utilized to produce a 2 x 2 ribbed fabric. As will be seen, adjacent cylinder needles and 11, knit one rib of the fabric while stitch loops 12 and 13 carried by a pair of dial needles provide the next rib of the fabric. Every third cylinder needle 14 is withdrawn downwardly in the cylinder and is inoperative and it is to be noted, that such inoperative cylinder needles 14 are positioned substantially midway of the rib knitted on the dial needles carrying the stitch loops 12 and 13. It will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 1, that the stitch loops 12 and 13 are relatively small and that passage of a cylinder needle through either of these loops during the transfer operation would be materially impeded.

Immediately prior to the transfer operation, the knitting machine is operated in a manner to knit a transfer section which consists of several loose courses of knitting and for this purpose, the cylinder needles 10 and 11, as

well as the dial needles 15 and 16, remain in operation and also, at this point, the previously inoperable cylinder needles 14 are placed in operation, in order to form an extra or additional stitch 17 disposed between the stitch loop-s 12 and 13 carried by the dial needles 15 and 16. It will thus be seen, that by the provision of these additional stitch loops 17, that the stitch loops 12 and 13 carried by the dial needles 15 and 16 are drawn down or enlarged, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and consequently, passage of the cylinder needle therethrough during the transfer operation is materially facilitated.

As will be clear from an inspection of Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the dial needle 15 is disposed between the cylinder needles 11 and 14 and the dial needle 16 is disposed between the cylinder needles 14 and 10. In order to accomplish the transfer operation, the dial needles 15 and 16 must be positioned directly over either the cylinder needles 11 and 14, or the cylinder needles 14 and 10. In order to accomplish this operation, the dial racking mechanism referred to above, is utilized and which serves to rotate the dial carrying the dial needles 15 and 16 in either direction to shift the angular position of the dial needles 15 and 16, with relation to the cylinder needles thereby properly positioning the same, in order to permit the cylinder needles to pass upwardly through the stitch loops 12 and 13 carried by the dial needles 15 and 16, and to remove such loops therefrom upon retraction of the dial needles to complete the transfer operation. .mainder of the sock, commonly termed the foot portion, is knitted solely on the cylinder needles thereby producirig a plain knitted fabric.

in Fig. 4, there is shown diagrammatically and to an enlarged scale, a section of fabric knitted in accordance with the method of this invention and in which a portion of the ribbed top is included and also the entire transfer section. As shown in this figure, courses 18 and 21 constitute the last two courses in the ribbed top and, as will be seen, the stitches 19 and 20 shown in these courses, are formed on the cylinder needles 10 and 11 respectively, while the stitches 12 and 13 are formed on the dial needles 15 and 16 respectively. Course 22 constitutes the first course of the transfer section and, as clearly shown, the stitches 1S and 2d are still formed on the cylinder needles 10 and 11 and the stitches 12 and 13 are still formed on the dial needles 15 and 16. However, an additional stitch 17 is formed between the stitches 12 and 13, by reason of the fact, that the previously inoperative cylinder needle 14 is placed in operation and serves to form this additional stitch. Courses 23 and 24 are formed in a similar manner to course 22 and ordinarily the three courses 22, 23 and 24 would constitute the transfer section, but, if desired, such section may be made of any other desired number of courses. It is to be understood, that following course 24, the stitches 12 and 13 received on the dial needles 15 and 16 are transferred to the appropriate cylinder needles and that thereafter, the plain portion of the fabric is knitted solely on the cylinder needles.

The provision of the additional stitches 17 between the stitches 12 and 13 received on the dial needles 15 and 16 does not materially change the outward appearance of the fabric, but does,- as explained above, permit the loops 12 and 13 to materially enlarge thereby facilitating passage of the cylinder needles therethrough during transfer operation. The additional loops 17 are shown in Fig. 4, considerably smaller than the other stitch loops and this has been done in order to emphasize the provision of such additional loops, when, as a matter of fact, in the actual fabric the additional loops 17 will be of substantially the same size as the other stitch loops in the fabric.

In Fig. 5, there is shown a diagrammatic arrangement of dial needles and cylinder needles which will also produce a 2 X 2 ribbed fabric, but in which the relationship of the number of stitches of the ribbed top to the number of stitches in the plain foot portion is different from Thereafter, the re-.

such relationship as shown in the fabric produced by the arrangement of needles illustrated in Fig. 3. In the arrangement according to Fig. 3, if it is assumed that there are 108 needles in the cylinder, 72 of such needles will be in operation during knitting of the ribbed top and likewise, 72 of the dial needles will be operating which results in a ribbed top produced on 144 needles. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 5, if it is assumed that there are 108 needles in the cylinder, 54 of these needles will be utilized together with 54 dial needles to knit the ribbed top thereby resulting in a top knit on 108 needles and a foot portion likewise knit on 108 needles as opposed to the ribbed top knit in accordance with Fig. 3 on 144 needles and a foot portion knit on 108 needles.

In the arrangement, as shown in Fig. 5, it will be seen that cylinder needles 25 and 26 are operative, while the next pair of cylinder needles 27 and 28 are inoperative. Dial needles 29 and 30 are, of course, operative during knitting of the ribbed top and as shown in this figure, dial needle 29 is disposed between inoperative cylinder needles 27 and 28 while dial needle 30 is disposed between inoperative cylinder needle 28 and operative cylinder needle 25. It is also to be noted, that in this figure, inoperative cylinder needle 28 is spaced from cylinder needle 27 and cylinder needle 25, a distance greater than the distance between the other cylinder needles, but this is for purposes of illustration only, in order to provide a clear showing of the needle arrangement and in the actual knitting machine, the spacing between all cylinder needles will be equal.

In this arrangement the ribbed top is knit in a similar manner to that described above, on every other pair of cylinder needles and on the pair of dial needles disposed therebetween and upon completion of the ribbed top, the transfer section is knit by putting the previously inoperative cylinder needles 27 and 28 into operation, which serves to double the number of stitches knit on the cylinder needles thereby providing several loose courses which serve to enlarge the loops carried by the dial needles to facilitate the transfer operation, as fully described above. After completion of the ribbed top, the dial is racked in one direction or the other to position the dial needles 29 and 39 directly over the desired cylinder needles in order to effect transfer of the stitches from the dial needles to the cylinder needles.

In Fig. 6, there is shown diagrammatically and to a greatly enlarged scale, the fabric produced by the method of this invention and in accordance with the arrangement of dial and cylinder needles shown in Fig. 5, and in Fig. 6, courses 31 and 36 constitute the last two courses of the ribbed top section and, as will be seen from this figure, stitches 32 and 33 are formed by the cylinder needles 25 and 26, while stitches 34 and 35 are formed by the dial needles 29 and 30. Course 37 constitutes the first course of the transfer section and, as shown in Fig. 6, stitches 32 and 33 are formed on cylinder needles 25 and 26, stitch 38 is formed on previously inoperative cylinder needle 27, stitch 34 is formed on dial needle 29, stitch 39 is formed on previously inoperative cylinder needle 28 and stitch 35 is formed on dial needle 31?. Courses 40 and 41 are identical with course 37, described above, and it is to be understood, that following course 41, the stitches received on the dial needles 2? and 30 are transferred to the cylinder needles and thereafter the foot portion of the sock is knit solely on the cylinder needles.

In the above described arrangement, it will be seen that during knitting of the transfer section, that there are twice as many stitches knit on the cylinder needles as during the knitting of the ribbed top and that the provision of these additional stitches results in enlarging the stitches engaging the dial needles, in order to facilitate the transfer operation.

It will be seen that by the above described invention, there has been provided a method of transfer knitting 6 which permits operation of a conventional transfer knitting machine in such a manner, as to materially facilitate ,the transfer operation and to prevent the dropping of stitches during such operation with the resulting fabric having an appearance substantially the same as the fabric heretofore, produced on transfer knitting machines. It is to be understood, that the two different arrangements of dial and cylinder needles, as described above, is for illustrative purposes only, and that many different combinations of such needles may be utilized, in order to produce the desired fabric. The method of transfer knitting provided by this invention is particularly advantageous, in that, no changes in design or construction of conventional transfer knitting machines is necessary, it being only necessary to operate such machines in accordance with the teachings of this invention, in order to materially increase the efiiciency of the transfer operation and to prevent the dropping of stitches which has heretofore, resulted in the production of inferior fabric with consequent increase in manufacturing costs.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is shown in the drawing and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A method of transfer knitting hosiery on a transfer knitting machine having dial needles and cylinder needles and mechanism for racking the dial to change the angular position of the dial needles relative to the cylinder needles, said method comprising knitting a ribbed top on alternate pairs of dial needles and cylinder needles and with every third cylinder needle inoperative, knitting a transfer section of several courses on said dial needles and on all cylinder needles to provide an additional stitch between the dial needles comprising each of said pairs of dial needles, said additional stitches providing enlarged stitch loops on said dial needles, racking the dial to position said dial needles over certain of said cylinder needles, transferring the stitch loops on said dial needles to said certain cylinder needles and knitting a foot, whereby said enlarged stitch loops facilitate passage of said certain cylinder needles therethrough during the transfer operation.

2. A method of transfer knitting hosiery on a transfer knitting machine having dial needles and cylinder needles and mechanism for racking the dial to change the angular position of the dial needles relative to the cylinder needles, said method comprising knitting a ribbed top on alternate pairs of dial needles and cylinder needles and with every third cylinder needle inoperative, knitting a transfer section of more than one course on said dial needles, said cylinder needles and on additional cylinder needles to provide an additional stitch between the dial needles comprising each of said pairs of dial needles, said additional stitches providing enlarged stitch loops on said dial needles, racking the dial to position said dial needles over certain of said cylinder needles, transferring the stitch loops on said dial needles to said certain cylinder needles and knitting a foot on said cylinder needles only, whereby said enlarged stitch loops facilitate passage of said certain cylinder needles therethrough during the transfer operation.

3. A method of transfer knitting hosiery on a transfer knitting machine having dial needles and cylinder needles and mechanism for racking the dial to change the angular position of the dial needles relative to the cylinder needles, said method comprising knitting a ribbed top on alternate pairs of dial needles and cylinder needles and with every third cylinder needle inoperative, knitting a transfer section on said dial needles, said cylinder needles and on additional cylinder needles to provide an additional stitch between the dial needles comprising each of said pairs of dial needles said additional stitches providing enlarged stitch loops on said dial needles, racking the dial to position said dial needles over certain of said cylinder needles, transferring the stitch loops on said dial needles to said certain cylinder needles and knitting a foot, whereby said enlarged stitch loops facilitate passage of said certain cylinder needles therethrough during the transfer operation.

4. A method of transfer knitting hosiery on a transfer knitting machine having dial needles and cylinder needles and mechanism for racking the dial to change the angular position of the dial needles relative to the cylinder needles, said method comprising knitting a ribbed top on alternate pairs of dial needles and cylinder needles and with some cylinder needles inoperative, knitting a transfer section on said dial needles and on all cylinder needles to provide an additional stitch between the dial needles comprising each of said pairs of dial needles, Said additional stitches providing enlarged stitch loops on said dial needles, racking the dial to position said dial needles over certain cylinder needles, transferring the stitch loops on said dial needles to said certain cylinder needles and knitting a foot on the cylinder needles only, whereby said enlarged stitch loops facilitate passage of said certain cylinder needles therethrough during the transfer operation.

5. A method of transfer knitting hosiery on a transfer knitting machine having dial needles and cylinder needles, said method comprising knitting a ribbed top on alternate pairs of dial needles and cylinder needles and with some cylinder needles inoperative, knitting a transfer section on said dial needles, said cylinder needles and on additional cylinder needles to provide an additional stitch between the dial needles comprising each of said pairs of dial needles, said additional stitches providing enlarged stitch loops on said dial needles, transferring the stitch loops on said dial needles to certain cylinder needles and knitting a foot, whereby said enlarged stitch loops facilitate passage of said certain cylinder needles therethrough during the transfer operation.

6. A method of transfer knitting hosiery on a transfer knitting machine having dial needles and cylinder needles, said method comprising knitting a ribbed top on said dial needles and some of said cylinder needles and with the remainder of said cylinder needles inoperative, knitting a transfer section on said dial needles and on a greater number of cylinder needles than were used in knitting said ribbed top to provide additional stitches between certain adjacent pairs of said dial needles, said additional stitches providing enlarged stitch loops on said dial needles, transferring the stitch loops on said dial needles to certain cylinder needles and knitting a foot, whereby said enlarged stitch loops facilitate passage of said certain cylinder needles therethrough during the transfer operation.

7. A method of transfer knitting hosiery on a transfer knitting machine having dial needles and cylinder needles and mechanism for racking the dial to change the angular position of the dial needles relative to the cylinder needles, said method comprising knitting a ribbed top on alternate pairs of dial needles and cylinder needles and with every other pair of cylinder needles inoperative, knitting a transfer section of several courses on said dial needles and on all cylinder needles to provide additional stitches on each side of one dial needle on each of said pairs of dial needles, said additional stitches providing enlarged stitch loops on all of said dial needles, racking the dial to position said dial needles over certain of said cylinder needles, transferring the stitch loops on said dial needles to said certain cylinder needles and knitting a foot on said cylinder needles only, whereby said enlarged stitch loops facilitate passage of said certain cylinder needles therethrough during the transfer operation. 7

8. A method of transfer knitting hosiery on a transfer knitting machine having dial needles and cylinder needles and mechanism for racking the dial to change the angular position of the dial needles relative to the cylinder needles, said method comprising knitting a ribbed top on alternate pairs of dialneedles and cylinder needles and with every other pair of cylinder needles inoperative, knitting a transfer section of more than one course on said dial needles, said cylinder needles and on additional cylinder needles to provide additional stitches on each side of one dial needle of each of said pairs of dial needles, said additional stitches providing enlarged stitch loops on all of said dial needles, racking the dial to position said dial needles over certain of said cylinder needles, transferring the stitch loops on said dial needles to said certain cylinder needles and knitting a foot on said cylinder needles only, whereby said enlarged stitch loops facilitate passage of said certain cylinder needles therethrough during the transfer operation.

9. A method of transfer knitting hosiery on a transfer knitting machine having dial needles and cylinder needles and mechanism for racking the dial to change the angular position of the dial needles relative to the cylinder needles, said method comprising knitting a ribbed top on alternate pairs of dial needles and cylinder needles and with every other pair of cylinder needles inoperative, knitting a transfer section on said dial needles and on all cylinder needles to provide additional stitches on each side of one dial needle on each of said pairs of dial needles, said additional stitches providing enlarged stitch loops on all of said dial needles, racking the dial to position on said dial needles over certainof said sylinder needles, transferring the stitch loops on said dial needles to said certain cylinder needles and knitting a foot, whereby said enlarged stitch loops facilitate passage of said certain cylinder needles therethrough during the transfer operation.

10. A method of transfer knitting hosiery on a transfer knitting machine having dial needles and cylinder needles, said method comprising knitting a ribbed top on alternate pairs of dial needles and cylinder needles and with every other pair of cylinder needles inoperative, knitting a transfer section on said dial needles, said cylinder needles and on additional cylinder needles to provide additional stitches on each side of one dial needle of each of said pairs of dial needles, said additional stitches providing enlarged stitch loops on all of said dial needles, transferring the stitch loops on said dial needles to said certain cylinder needles and knitting a foot, whereby said enlarged stitch loops facilitate passage of said certain cylinder needles therethrough during the transfer operation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,992,899 Lawson et al. Feb. 26, 1935 2,103,908 Lawson et al. Dec. 28, 1937 2,433,931 St. Pierre Jan. 6, 1948 2,626,512 St. Pierre Jan. 27, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 10,735 Great Britain of 1910 79,958 Germany i Mar. 1, 1895 

